Black Roses Red
by KayteeSue
Summary: Susie thought she was ready to leave New Jersey and start a new life in LA. Then she meets her idol, Joe Jonas. She falls head over heels, but if they’re so in love, why doesnt she have the guts to tell him her deepest secret? Read more to find out!
1. A New Beginning

Alright so… this is my first fanfic

**Alright so… this is my first fanfic. Its taking a lot out of me so I hope its worth it. Enjoy. And please please please review! It would make me mucho excited (:**

**Oh yeah and here's a tidbit- almost anything in italics is a thought, but it will constantly be obvious who's thinking it, so you wont be confused.**

"When you look me in the eyes. And tell me that you love me, everythings alri-" Susie slapped the snooze button on the alarm clock.

"Perfect. Morning," she said to herself sarcastically. It was 9:30. Time to get up and say goodbye to the life she knew. Her plane for California was leaving at 2 p.m., and she had to spend her last day in boring New Jersey packing her carry on stuff. She'd already said goodbye to the few friends she managed to keep. Susie wasn't one for long, sad goodbyes. She was already an emotional wreck most of the time, anyway.

She got up and took a long, hot shower then straightened her long, dark brown hair. After deciding that her appearance today really was trivial, she went downstairs to greet her parents good morning, and ate her last breakfast in the New Jersey home she'd lived in since birth. In all honesty, she was ready to get the hell outta there. She and her parents had to move to L.A. to get away from the Jersey shore for good. None of them ever really liked it there anyway. It was always dirty and boring, and brought back painful memories that the family felt the need to get away from. Plus, the hospitals were better in Los Angeles.

Susie and her parents spent some time getting the last of their things ready and loaded into the car. The big stuff and the other 2 cars had already been shipped to California. By 1 p.m., they had arrived at the airport.

"California, here we come!" her dad nearly yelled. Her mom giggled and Susie kept walking. She was too tired to care. Oh, insomnia. They boarded the plane and sat there impatiently for about 30 minutes. Then the engines finally started up and they raced down the runway.

"Oh God…" she whispered to herself, realizing what was actually happening to her life. She closed her eyes and let her thoughts go crazy, never fully in a deep sleep.

She woke up with a jolt, due to turbulence. "_Only an hour to go"_ she thought to herself. She pulled out her iPod from her purse and put on "You Just Don't Know It", setting her head back in a relazed position. Ah, an old favorite. She had been a huge Jonas Brothers fan since the start of their brotherly career. Time flew and she finally arrived at LAX airport. She and her parents picked up their bags from the baggage claim and got in a taxi, heading towards their new home. When Susie saw the first few houses of her southern Los Angeles neighborhood, her mouth dropped. Her mother was a stay-at-home mom, and her father had just recently become a partner in a huge law firm. Six months ago they could have never afforded this. They pulled up to a beautiful beige beach house-style mansion, and Susie couldn't believe that this was her new home. She hugged her mom and ran inside. She took time to explore the gigantic house and found the perfect bedroom for her. She dropped all of her stuff on the floor, made the bed, and slept. Jet-lag gets to you. She woke up at 6 p.m., California time, which she still wasn't used to. She unpacked some of her personal items, then went downstairs to eat dinner with her parents.

After they had cleaned up their take-out Chinese cuisine container mess, Susie's parents asked her if she wanted to explore downtown L.A. with them.

"No thanks, Mom. I'm not feeling too hot right now. I think I'll just go read or something."

"Okay, hon." Her mother was a Baltimore native, and it was constantly evident in her heavy dialect. "Don't forget to take your medicine. Daddy and I will have our cells with us. Just call if you get worse."

"I will mom. I know the routine," she said, irritated and impatient.

"See ya later, Suebee."

"Bye, Daddy," she replied.

And with that, she was alone. Oh, stress. Oh, fatigue. What to do? She sighed and let a big fat "UGH!" escape from her mouth. "_I needed that" _she thought to herself. She walked into the living and plopped down on the big wrap-around couch, such that her body was taking up almost all of the horizontal side, with her head resting on the "wrap". She grabbed the remote and flipped through the digital cable channels which, thank God, the cable guy actually got to setting up while she was asleep. She got lost in the childish world of a Hannah Montana marathon and quickly fell asleep. Here come the dreams. At least this time it involved her, Joe Jonas, a big bed, and handcuffs. She hated the nightmares. Susie woke with a jerk in a cold sweat.

"Oh, Lord! I finally dream something good and the night sweats come anyway," she whispered harshly, pissed off at her own mind. She looked at the wall clock. 10:30. _"At night?!" _ She'd only been asleep for a few hours. _"Shit. Medicine."_ She jumped off the couch and started towards the kitchen. On her way there she tripped over a box of kitchen fragiles and banged her foot…hard.

"FUCK!" she exclaimed. She wasn't one for intense pain. Which sucked, considering her precarious situation. She took her pills and went upstairs back to bed.

"Tomorrow will be a new day. The start of a new life. Dear God, please let it be a good one," she spoke softly to herself before drifting to sleep.

**Okay so I know that was ridiculously boring and pointless and had little dialogue, but a background is always necessary. I already have the first few chapters written out and I can guarantee you they're better and more exciting. So bare with me please! Thanks. **


	2. Why Now?

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Bright light shined through the bay window of Susie's massive bedroom. She opened her eyes to see the gigantic sun staring back at her, and shut them quickly, immediately seeing purple and green spots beneath her eyelids.

"Yay! Morning. Again…" she said to herself, only half-sarcastically this time. She got up and showered and did her hair and blah blah blah, same old morning routine for almost every 17 year old girl out there. Awkward sounds began to escape from her stomach, so she went downstairs to see if her parents picked up some breakfast food. When she got to the kitchen, her parents, a buttered plain bagel, hot chocolate with extra whipped cream, and her morning horse pills were waiting for her.

"Morning, honey!" her mom said excitedly.

"Hey Mommy. Wuddup padre?!" she addressed her parents.

"Hi sweetie," her dad replied quietly, while reading the newspaper. Susie used to have a great relationship with her parents, but the fast few years tore her and her parents apart at the seams. She never had another decent conversation with them. It was always sarcastic, but light remarks for her father, and awkward "Hi, Mom. I need some space right now"-s for her mom. Susie didn't mind, though. What was the point of starting up a relationship now? It's all going to be for nothing. She lost all of her friends a few years back, and never saw the point in trying to regain her life.

"So, uh…how's L.A.?" she awkwardly inquired.

"Aw, hon. You missed a good time. But don't worry, there will be plenty of chances for you to go see it, and live your life the way you always wanted," her mom, Keyra said.

"You sure about that?" she asked the rhetorical question in a somber tone. Her mother's face fell and the subject was dropped.

"How you feeling today, sweetie?" her father, Matthew, asked.

"Better, I guess. Still kinda jet-lagged, but the new meds are working great," she said in a bored tone.

"Well… that's…great?" Matthew replied vapidly. Vapid person.

"What did you wanna do to today, love?" her mom intervened.

"I think I'm gonna spend some time at the beach. California waters are amazing. I guess we'll start the job hunt sometime this week."

"Sounds like a plan. I don't start work til Monday, so mom and I will be here if you need us," he said in a fake, but attempted, reassuring tone.

"I'm gonna go pack a few things and hit the road. The beach isn't too far from here." Once inside her BMW X5, she cried. Cried her eyes out. Dried her tears and headed for the horizon line.

_My name is Susie Tarasco. I'm 17 years old. Sarcastic and witty, although fairly introverted. But I wasn't always like that, no. I lost everything and became this shut-out, quiet child when I was 14 years old. The year I found out that I only have a few years left to live._

"Fucking navi system!" she slapped the dashboard. She was lost in L.A. Not too far from home, but not near enough to be comfortable. She spotted access to a beach and whispered "fuck it" to herself and pulled up on the curb, in front of a Jeep. Grabbing her blanket, towel, iPod, and book, she headed for the mass of sand and pulled her blue Raybans over her face. The beach was practically empty. Strange. The only people there were 3 boys goofing around in the sand, not too far away. She set her stuff down, put her iPod on and opened her book, keeping to herself.

Meanwhile, a few yards away…

"Aaaahh! Dammit!" Joe yelled when he got tackled from the side. "Nick let me go! I got sand in my eye!" He yelled at his younger brother.

"Sorry dude. Here." He handed his brother a bottle of fresh water so Joe could wash his eye out with something…clean.

"Crisis averted!" Joe exclaimed.

"Hey guys check it out. Pretteh ladeh to the left," the eldest brother, Kevin pointed out, accenting the y-s in each word.

"Dude I thought no one else knew about this beach!" Nick said, confused.

"Yeah, me too. Oh well. What's one other person?" Kevin replied effortlessly. Joe was hardly listening. This girl. She was captivating. He was blown away by her long dark hair blowing in the wind, her perfectly bikini'd body so tan and smooth. He needed to know this girl.

"Joe? JOE! Snap out of it man!" Kevin was waving his hand in Joe's face, laughing hysterically.

"I HAVE to go talk to her…" Joe spoke softly.

"Joe, are you crazy?! She could be a psycho fan! Or she could tell people about our spot. We never get downtime anymore! It's better to go unnoticed right now," Nick complained.

"No. I just have to do this. I don't even know why."

"Fine, dude. But I blame you when we can never come back here." Nick was only half-joking. Being so young, their career affected his life the most. He desperately missed the days when he and his brothers were able to hang out anywhere and not have to be disguised or escorted by security. Joe started walking towards the girl.

Out of her peripheral vision, Susie saw one of the boys walk in her direction. She held her book up to her face and awkwardly turned her body away. "_Who is this guy and what the fuck is he doing?!...shit! Here he comes!"_

"Uhm… excuse me?" His soft voice sounded familiar. She looked up and gasped. Joseph Adam motherfucking Jonas was standing right there, in front of her. Every cuss word she ever knew ran through her head. Susie had grown accustomed to swearing. She used to use it, along with sarcasm, as a protective shell that she used to hide the sweet, sensitive vulnerability she wanted no one to see. Susie looked away. She couldn't look him in the eyes without completely melting.

"Yes…?" she asked nervously.

"Uh hi. I'm Joe," he introduced.

"Y-yeah…I know," Susie stuttered.

"Really? Cool!" Joe was ecstatic that this amazing girl knew who he was, although it was really to be expected.

"Can I take a seat?"

"Erm… sure." Joe plopped down on the blanket next to her.

"Whatcha listening to?" he inquired, gesturing toward her iPod. _Shit! What do I do? I don't wanna look like a fangirl, but I don't have time to change the song. Oh well. Too late now._ She handed him her iPod, which was currently playing Australia. Joe laughed a sweet, innocent laugh.

"So you're a fan, huh?" She nodded shyly, thinking that less of a nod would show less of a fan.

"Since day 1…" she admitted.

"Well, you know how we feel about our fans. That means a lot, no matter how many times a day we hear it. Thanks for your support…?" he trailed off, fishing for a name.

"Oh sorry! I'm Susie. Tarasco. I just moved here from Jersey."

"Sweet! That's where we're from!"

"Yeah actually I know that. I grew up a few blocks away from you. But I didn't know that at first, and when you got famous and I found out where you lived, I didn't want to bother you. Then you all moved here."

"Wow. Talk about coincidences."

"Yeah, I guess," she said bluntly.

"Yyyyeahh. So, uhm, how old are you?" he asked out pure curiosity.

"17. I turn 18 next month. Just 4 days after Nick's sweet 16, actually."

"Aw cool! My 19th is in 2 weeks."

"Yeahhhh, I know. I sound like a total creeper right now. Sorry. I spend a lot of time in my room, on the computer, you know."

"Aw haha it's all good. I'm flattered. Plus, knowing our birthdays is nothing compared to what some fans know." He laughed and pushed back his gorgeous straight hair.

"Look, Joe. I'm confused. Why are you here, talking to me?"

"Well…I don't know. I just thought you were gorgeous. I felt like I HAD to know you. I even got bitched out by my brothers, but I came anyway.

"Well I'm flattered, but I gotta get home," she said while gathering her things together.

"Oh, alright. Well can I get your number?" She shook her head and began to tear up.

"I'm so sorry." And with that, she was gone. Joe stood there, confused and hurt, wondering what he could have done wrong. Then he heard her angelic voice from behind him.

"Hey, uh, Joe?" she called. He turned around, even more confused.

"This is like, really embarrassing, but my navi system got me lost and I don't really know how to get home…"

"Oh. Where do you live?"

"Hmm. I think it's a community called Waverly Woods."

"No way! We live there too! I'll ride with you and direct you home. Just let me go explain to my brothers."

"Okay…" she replied skeptically.

"Wow…nice car," he said as they approached her bright blue BMW.

"Thanks. My dad got it for me a few months ago when he hit it big at the law firm." Joe's face dropped. _Another rich California bitch. Great. Wait! Joseph! Don't jump to conclusions. This girl is different. You already know that._

"Ohh. That's cool. Your dad must really love you."

"Yeah…I'm pretty sure he really does." They got in the car and Joe began directing her. Once they were inside the gates of their community, he asked which street.

"Uhh…Stonecrest Drive. House number 4434."

"Are you kidding me?!" Joe exclaimed. "We live at 4432…Stonecrest Drive! You're our next door neighbor!" he said excitedly.

"Wow. Awesome," she said in a noticeably upset voice. _Great. The man of my dreams is actually interested in me…and he's my fucking neighbor! And I can't let him into my life. This fucking blows. _They pulled up to her house and got out.

"Thanks for the help, Joe."

"No prob. Hey listen, we're on a 2 month break from tour and shooting J.O.N.A.S., so if you ever wanna catch something to eat or a coffee or something…"

"Listen, Joe. I'm flattered. I really, really am. You have no idea how badly I want to say 'take me, Joseph Adam Jonas'. I've always wanted to say that. But, I can't. I'm sorry. Goodbye." Susie walked up the stone path and into her gorgeous house. Joe walked next door to his own house, sad and alone. On the verge of tears.

She closed the door and melted. She broke down. Tears flowing like the Mississippi River. _I'd say I hate my life, but that's not what this is. This can't be life. No. There's gotta be more to the real thing." _Once at home, Joe ran upstairs and grabbed his guitar. He played effortlessly, with soul and passion like no other. Teardrops fell onto his guitar **(not an intentional Taylor Swift reference). **_What the hell is wrong with me? I don't even know this girl. Why am I so affected by her? Am I really so stuck-up that I can't handle not having one girl? Or worse…is it me? What did I do wrong?_

What Joe didn't know was that Susie wanted him more than anything. She wanted to hold him and love him. But if she wanted what's best for Joe, she couldn't. She could never hurt someone like that.


End file.
